Homebrewing!

[Wasabi]

There are times I just want to chuck the whole thing in.

Three brews on the go....

1. ESB Pilsner, that despite following the bouncing ball refuses to drop below 1.020. Hate Pilsner anyway!

2. Porter, small batch, nice malty with just the right amount of hops, pity about the sulphuric acid after taste as it strips your taste buds on the way down.

3. English Pale Ale. Won't drop below 1.028, tastes like sugared cow pi$$ (or what I imagine it would taste like) and smells like something worse.


Some days........

What did I do differently? Who knows....., and I'm overly paranoid about sanitation. Maybe I'll use less sulphuric acid and cows pi$$ next time.

Serves me right for boasting to a mate that I've never had a brew go bad. Well if bad luck comes in three's, at least they're all out of the way in one go.


Bah humbug! :angry:

 

[deebee]

(Jeannie Little voice Oh I know how ya feeeel!

Had three brews in a row go belly up earlier this year. They were alright at bottling but slowly got badder and badder. Can't bear to pour them out but am going to have to do it soon to free up some bottles.

I believe it was an infection from not taking apart fermenter taps and cleaning them properly. Reviewed all sanitation practices and have had a few good brews since which indicates that that was the problem.

To make it worse one of those brews was absolutely stunning at three weeks in the bottle, definitely my best ever brew. A month later something odd had crept in to the aftertaste. A further month later and it was acrid, aggressive and foul.

(Still fumbling along...)

 

[Snow]

Wasabi,

with the stuck ferments, it sounds like your aeration, yeast propogation and racking techniques all need closer examination.

- Snow

 

[Doc]

Hang in there Wasabi.

I've had a couple of ordinary brews and have muttered the words "No more experiments" and "No more kits", but a couple of good brews later I'm back experimenting and doing the odd kit to keep supplies up.

Beers,
Doc

 

[Wasabi]

Snow,

I can appreciate what your saying, as I said the same thing to myself. But all three things have been done the same way for the past 5 years???? Never with a problem

I think I might have something nasty living in my fermentors so they are all getting a nice long Bleach bath this weekend.


Doc, I know it will pass. I'm just going to do a few standard brews, Can, malt and maybe a little grain steeping, to convince myself that I can still make beer before I start experimenting again.

Hey, and maybe a few months in the bottle they'l come good. My last experiment, an American Pale Ale was revolting, but I kept it just in case. 4 Months on and it's beautiful.....

Sigh.....back to the fermentor.....

 

[Jovial_Monk]

beers not dropping to target gravities sounds much like insufficient aeration or possibly insufficient yeast pitched.

before pitching yeast, try dropping the wort from one fermenter into another one located say a metre below the first. for beers over OG 1050, the next morning (about 14-18 hopurs after pitching, when fermentation is beginning) aerate the beer again by running into a third fermenter located just below the second.

With these techniques even my Russion Imperial Stout, OG 1125, fermented out down to 1032 in 5 days

For the beers presently stuck, sanitise your brewpaddle, take the lid of the fermenter and stir up all the yeast sitting on the bottom. Rouse the shit out of your beer and it should finish OK. If that does not do it, rehydrate a fresh good pack of dry yeast, add a litre of your stuck beer, aerate and let ferment, add another two litres of beer, when that is going gangbusters add this to the rest of the beer in the fermenter


Now why a beer tastes like sulphuric acid, the wort does drop to a very low pH due to the yeast--this is one way your yeast protects your beer. whether that is the problem is hard to tell from here

You say you are using kits. hope you are not just pitching the itty bitty pack of kit yeast?






Jovial_Monk

 

[Wasabi]

Well guys...its a lesson learnt. I found out what when wrong.

I went to bottle it last night, and as I opened the fermentor, a noxious odour of nail polish remover overtook the house,

I looked up "Smells like Nail Polish Remover" in the troubleshooting guide in one of my books and have learnt that this is caused by fermenting at too high a temperature and therefore creating fusel alcohols.

It's cold where I live so I used a heat belt at night. A heat belt keeps 23L of beer at the right remp. However as I only had 7L, I reckon I must have been up somewher in the high 30's.

Yes...it tasted like the smell of nail polish remover too.

Have a nice Morgans Amber Ale bubbling away now, might use the other stuff in my kerosene lamp.

 

[Nearly]

Wasabi,

I am a beginner brewer so I offer this bearing that in mind.... but I have read more than once that yeast will eat fusal alchohols and turn them into something nicer if there is nothing else fermentable left for them to eat.

So I was thinking that if you left the beer in a cube at room temp for a while it may be that the fusals would be fermented out. Then maybe cold condition for a while and maybe it will turn out ok.

I realize that you only have 7 litres and so maybe dont mind throwing it out but it might be a good experiment to perform. Just a thought.

 

[badbillys]

Yep... %*&# stupid hobby....

Well tonite I kegged wot was promising to be my best brew yet...after I had siphoned in to the keg I went to put the hatch back in to place and found it to be pretty loose fitting... 1/2 asleep as I was it took me 5 mins of going this way n that to realise that the "o ring" was missing!!!After 10 mins of frantic searching I had to come to the horrible conclusion... it was in the keg

So wot do I do... wait till the morning till I can get to the HB shop and get another.. ummm not sure the boss will understand why i couldnt start till noon...ummm it will probably get infested if i wait till tomorrow arvo so i siphoned BACK in to the carboy... then as there was a little bit of brew i couldnt siphon i washed my entire arm al la surgeon style in detol soap and throughy rinsed arm ready to plunge in to keg to retrieve said "o ring".

"But wait.. Theres more!!" after a few mins of trying to get my arm in the smallish opening i found it impossible... hmmmmm $%#*!! wot to do...i was desperate so i did the only thing i could do... i woke up my wife and asked her for help! Well once she was fully awake and had stoped laughing.. she scrubbed up and retrieved my "o ring"!

So now the brew is back in the keg.. Sealed tight.. burped.. in the fridge and Im praying it wont get infected! And thats the LAST time Im even looking at a brew when Im tired!!!

I feel like the biggest idiot ever but thourght id share that "blooper" with u guys. I hope u get a laugh from it.
:chug:

Billy

 

[deebee]

Thanks billy,

good laugh to start the day.

 

[Doc]

hahahahah my eyes are leaking.
Just imagining you waking your wife up and trying to explain you needed help.

It should still be fine. As long as you were sterlised and the siphon was sterlised and you now have the beer chilled and the CO2 on everything should be fine. RDWHAHB.

Beers,
Doc

 

[Snow]

mate that's hilarious, thanks! :lol:

 

[JasonY]

hahahaha

All I can asy is that you must have a very understanding wife I hate to think of the answer I would have gotten for a similar request.

 

[Doc]

After brewing around 2500 litres of beer the day has unfortunately come.
This morning I tipped out a full keg.
The brew was a kit with some steep grains.
Well I had actually tried to mash some vienna in a thermos.

I haven't had to tip a beer before so it was a little hard. But it had to be done. The taste of the beer was quite astringent and there was no way I was going to be able to drink an entire keg of it when a glass was too much.

Oh well done to a learning experience.
At least I have a really nice AG DunkelWeizen Doppelbock to take its place in the keg

Beers,
Doc

 

[Snow]

Doc my hert-felt commiserations on your loss - I hope I never have to go through what you have. Any Ideas as to what caused the astringency?

 

[Trough Lolly]

<snip>
For the beers presently stuck, sanitise your brewpaddle, take the lid of the fermenter and stir up all the yeast sitting on the bottom. Rouse the shit out of your beer and it should finish OK. If that does not do it, rehydrate a fresh good pack of dry yeast, add a litre of your stuck beer, aerate and let ferment, add another two litres of beer, when that is going gangbusters add this to the rest of the beer in the fermenter
<snip>

JM and anyone else reading this great thread,

My bavarian lager is running very slowly - bubbling through the airlock every 23 seconds and its only day 3 of the brew.

I used a sachet of 3470 Lager yeast - I am disappointed that after hydrating and making a good yeast starter, that the brew is really slowly fermenting...It took 36 hours to start bubbling

Is it too late to sanitise a stirrer, rip the lid and stir the shit out of the wort and pitch some more yeast?

Any ideas/suggestions for a sluggish brew would be appreciated.

My only main concern in all this is that the wort has been sitting at 18c since the start - I know that 18C is a bit high but surely the yeast should be working a bit better than one fart every 23 seconds!!

There are no suss smells and the krausen is about 1 inch thick (intermingled with hallertau plug leaves on top of the wort!!)

TL

P.S. Billy - good work with the missus!!

 

[Snow]

TL from your description, it sounds like a classic case of leaking fermenter seal. Leave it for a couple mor days, then rack to secondary and take a hydro reading.

- Snow

 

[Doc]

I think my problem was due to a too high a temp in the thermos or too high a temp of the water or too much water rinsing the grain.
More than likely the later.

I would do as Snow suggest TL and leave it. It is fermenting so don't mess with something that isn't really broke.

Beers,
Doc

 

[Trough Lolly]

Thanks Guys,

Yes I will let it be - I too thought I had a leak in the fermenter lid, and have checked it at least 3 times in the last 24 hours...I'm using my best fermenter and I've never had a leak yet (that I know of - touchwood!).

I will give it a week in primary and rack to secondary next weekend and check the gravity then. I am planning on two weeks in secondary, before I bulk prime...

Cheers and thanks for the advice

TL

 

[RegBadgery]

After never having any problems with suspected infections, I had three on the trot over winter (certainly tasted crook as blazes).

Happily they were only half sized batches but it was pretty crook all the same. I've become scrupulous with bleach bathing since then and haven't looked back.

cheers
reg